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Dear National Service Colleagues,
It is with deep sorrow that I report that Eli Segal passed away at his home in Boston yesterday after a courageous battle against mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer.
As many of you in the national service community can attest, Eli was a giant for our movement, and all of us will miss him greatly. He was a founding father of national service, helping shape the 1993 national service legislation and serving as the first CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. Eli launched AmeriCorps in a matter of months, getting 20,000 members in the field while also managing the creation of a complex new federal agency that combined Senior Corps, VISTA, NCCC, and Learn and Serve America under one roof. His leadership paved the way for the bipartisan acceptance and future expansion of AmeriCorps. Eli remained a strong champion and friend of national service, providing insights and leadership through his service on the board of the Corporation, City Year and other programs.
Eli understood the God-given potential inside every one of us, and dedicated his whole life to bringing it out. The institutions he founded – AmeriCorps and Welfare to Work – were built on a vision of opportunity and personal responsibility. That vision has come true -- whether the 400,000 men and women who have given intensive service to their country through AmeriCorps, or the tens of thousands of welfare recipients who have moved out of poverty into a life of self-sufficiency.
Eli was a successful entrepreneur, and he brought business principles to his nonprofit endeavors. He helped fashion the Corporation as a public-private partnership that places a heavy emphasis on accountability, competition, and results. He chose as AmeriCorps’ mantra and mandate "Getting Things Done" to put the focus on achieving direct and demonstrable impacts. Through his focus on accountability and results, Eli has had a ripple effect on the entire nonprofit sector.
Eli’s warm heart and infectious spirit inspired everyone he came into contact with. That spirit will continue to shine in all of us as we go about the vital work of national service. On behalf of the Board and the staff of the Corporation, I would like to express my deep appreciation and gratitude for Eli Segal’s tireless efforts to build national service and wish his family peace and consolation during this difficult time.
I am writing to you from Baton Rouge, where this afternoon I will be swearing in fifty members of the new City Year Louisiana. I look forward to administering the AmeriCorps pledge and reaffirming the importance of national service to these dedicated young people. I know Eli would be proud, and his spirit and legacy will be in full force.
Yours in Service,
David Eisner
CEO, Corporation for National and Community Service
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